Final answer:
The resting membrane potential of a neuron is influenced by the K+ equilibrium potential, can be affected by hypokalemia, and requires ATP to maintain, primarily through the actions of the sodium-potassium pump.
Step-by-step explanation:
The resting membrane potential of a neuron is indeed partially due to the K+ equilibrium potential. It is a balance between the tendency of K+ to move down its concentration gradient out of the cell, which would make the inside more negative, and the electrical gradient that pulls K+ into the cell because of the inside's negative charge. The resting membrane potential will decrease, or become less negative, when a person exhibits hypokalemia (a lower than normal level of potassium in the blood), since there would be less K+ to move out of the cell down its concentration gradient. The maintenance of resting membrane potential requires the expenditure of ATP by the sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+ ATPase), which moves K+ into the cell and Na+ out, against their concentration gradients. This activity consumes energy because it is moving ions against the direction they would naturally move, and this is crucial in maintaining the resting membrane potential.